Tangible nanocomposites with diverse properties for heart valve application

Cardiovascular disease claims millions of lives every year throughout the world. Biomaterials are used widely for the treatment of this fatal disease. With the advent of nanotechnology, the use of nanocomposites has become almost inevitable in the field of biomaterials. The versatile properties of nanocomposites, such as improved durability and biocompatibility, make them an ideal choice for various biomedical applications. Among the various nanocomposites, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-poly(carbonate-urea)urethane, bacterial cellulose with polyvinyl alcohol, carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide and nano-hydroxyapatite nanocomposites have gained popularity as putative choices for biomaterials in cardiovascular applications owing to their superior properties. In this review, various studies performed utilizing these nanocomposites for improving the mechanical strength, anti-calcification potential and hemocompatibility of heart valves are reviewed and summarized. The primary motive of this work is to shed light on the emerging nanocomposites for heart valve applications. Furthermore, we aim to promote the prospects of these nanocomposites in the campaign against cardiovascular diseases.     

Hemocompatibility of Sulfuric Acid-Treated Metallocene Polyethylene and its Application in Reducing the Quantity of Medical Plastic Waste

The hazards of dumping medical plastics have created a huge demand to reduce the quantity of plastic usage without compromising its quality. The metallocene synthesized polyethylene is one such advent, however, its clinical usage is limited by the problem of hemocompatibility. This study investigates the effect of sulfuric acid-induced changes in metallocene polyethylene. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis illustrated the addition of OH and sulfonic acid group, which subsequently increased the wettability. An improvement in micro as well as nanosurface roughness was observed. Ultimately, the treated surfaces depicted delayed clotting time, adsorption of specific plasma proteins, reduced hemolysis, and resistance against platelet adhesion.     

Photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin pollutant and in-vitro cytotoxic activity of gold nanoparticles using seed extract of Abrus precatorius

Synthesis of nanoparticles from plant extract is a very simple reliable, rapid, affordable and un-hazardous technique. In the present exploration, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were rapidly synthesized using seed extract of Abrus precatorius. The prepared nanomaterials were systematically proved by FTIR, UV–Visible, Powder-XRD, SEM, EDAX and TEM analyses. The formation of Au NPs was primarily identified by the colour change from yellow to purple within 5 min and which showed a surface Plasmon peak around 535 nm. The dimension of the gold nanoparticles was found to be in the range of 10–20 nm. The particles were poly-dispersed with a triangular, spherical and hexagonal shape. The gold nanoparticles were used to degrade the antibiotic drug ciprofloxacin (CIP) with an efficiency of above 95%. Moreover, the bio-synthesized gold nanoparticles had been assessed for their in-vitro cytotoxic activity on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) lines. The colorimetric 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to evaluate the Inhibitory Concentration (IC₅₀) value. The IC₅₀ value is 37?±?1.5 µg/mL. In future, this can be used for breast cancer therapy.